Battle to Succeed Biya: Finance Minister Orders Tax Authorities To Unblock Anecdote Group’s Bank Accounts

By Amina Hilda

The Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze has ordered taxation officials to unfreeze severa bank accounts of the Anecdote Media Group.

The accounts had been blocked days ago in what many say is not unconnected to intestinal battles over who succeeds President Paul Biya as President of Cameroon.

On May 9, 2022, the President Director General , PDG OF the Anecdote Group, Jean Pierre Amougou Belinda, received a note from the taxation department, informing him of unpaid taxes to the tune of 17,842,604,519 (seventeen billion, eight hundred and forty-two million, six hundred and four thousand, five hundred and Nineteen francs).

The surfacing of the document in public later sparked debates, Yoaunde -based Vision4 TV which is part of the Anecdote Group later aired a series of reports linking the levy to intestinal battles within the Biya regime against its owner.

The media house also claimed the over 17 billion FCFA unpaid taxes came after another levy months back of 30 billion FCFA. It then revealed that some tax officials had asked Amoungou Bilinga to bribe them 500 million FCFA to clear the fie.

Vision4 also fingered the Director General of Taxation, Modeste Mopa of having been instrumentalized by those in the system who have promised him the post of Minister of Finance in Biya’s next government to engage the action against Amougou Bilinga.

Motaze Halts Process
However, the Minister of Finance in a letter signed Friday May 13, 2022, ordered the taxation department to unfreeze all the bank accounts of the group. He as well called on the suspension of all other procedures engaged by the tax administration against the same group.

Both parties are however expected to sit down in a formal setting to agree on the amount to be paid as taxes.
Pierre Parfait Sida, tax adviser of the Group Anecdote urged the taxation department to notify the various banks and instruct them to unfreeze the accounts.

He said , following the minister’s decision: ” They should sign another decision, notifying the different banks, asking them to unfreeze all the accounts with immediate effect as per the minister’s letter” .

The group anecdote however view this move by Modest, Director General of the taxation department as an attempt to cripple the media group. They have as well complained that since the arrival of this Director General at the head of the taxation department, many businesses in Cameroon have suffered attacks while some have completely crumbled.

Mimi Mefo Infos